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Ji <br />There is a story behind every light switch and power button. In the West, M <br />that story is intertwined with the story of settlement, reclamation, recreation and the <br />environment. It is easy to take electricity for granted. But demands are skyrocketing and <br />electrical generation is not keeping pace. Household and commercial electronics, air <br />conditioners, population growth, and even the Internet, are fueling these rising demands. <br />2006 marks the 50th anniversary of the Colorado River Storage Project Act (CRSP). <br />This landmark federal law authorized the construction of water storage and hydroelectric plants <br />in the Upper Colorado River Basin. Today, CRSP hydropower is one of the most important <br />sources of electricity in the West. But production from even these renewable resources is <br />being restrained in a way that could stress the system to the breaking point. <br />Two federal agencies operate CRSP reservoirs: the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation <br />(Bureau) and the Western Area Power Administration (Western). Today, they must grapple <br />with societal needs for water <br />and power along with <br />*q. recreational demands and the <br />most powerful and restrictive <br />environmental laws in the <br />world. <br />The only solution <br />to balance these competing <br />environmental and societal <br />needs lies in carefully - <br />managing reservoir <br />operations in appropriate <br />hydrologic conditions. <br />the Bureau of Reclamation 2 <br />